The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Thursday organised a stakeholders’ meeting to prepare them for fire mitigation and response.

In a speech at the meeting in Akure, the agency’s director-general, Mustapha Habib, said available statistics showed that fire outbreaks, which lead to loss of lives and property, were more prevalent in Ondo State during dry seasons.

Mr Habib, represented by the head of the Ekiti operations office, Kadiri Olanrewaju, said NEMA, as an emergency coordinating agency, was monitoring the state of preparedness of stakeholders and creating awareness of disaster management.

He said it was the agency’s duty to put up a preparedness mechanism against fire disasters, hence the stakeholders’ meeting.

Mr Habib urged farmers and market women associations to sensitise members on the dangers of fire.

“If all the preventive mechanisms are followed assiduously, the incidence of fire that is prevalent during the dry season will be averted or drastically reduced,” Mr Habib said.

He also advised market women to procure fire extinguishers and have them in their shops and warehouses in case of any fire.

The Ondo State Emergency Management Agency secretary, Femi Obideyi, said the state was prepared for the coming dry season.

Mr Obideyi said the agency had been training stakeholders on the necessary things to do to mitigate fire.

The Iyaloja of the state, Kemi Adedapo-Adesida, said the association had always held meetings to sensitise her members on measures to prevent fire. 

(NAN)